1. Field
The present invention generally relates to the field of channel switches in a multi-channel communication system. More specifically, the present invention relates to processing one or more input channels to a frequency translation module through a scalable switch architecture.
2. Background
A growing portion of television programming is broadcast directly to home receivers via satellite. Satellite television provides a wide array of programming and is broadcasted from various orbital positions in space. Satellite antennas receive signals from these specific orbital locations. Integrated receiver decoders (IRD) decode the signals received by the antenna signals and pass them to a television for viewing. Oftentimes, households subscribe to additional satellite programs, such as high-definition and specialized programming, where multiple antennas may be required to receive broadcasts from satellites in different orbital locations. The broadcast signal from each satellite may contain a number of distinct bands based on, for example, frequency and polarization. Alternatively, a single antenna (e.g., satellite dish) may be used to receive broadcast signals from the different satellites.
A frequency translation module (FTM) enables a user to selectively switch the signals received from each satellite antenna and deliver these signals to an IRD located within a household. Conventional FTMs contain one or more tuners, where each tuner is coupled to one satellite antenna. The tuner selects and down-converts a desired channel from the satellite signal to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal or a baseband signal, which is suitable for processing and display on a television or computer monitor.
Conventional approaches to the design of tuners employ analog components, such as fixed-frequency filters, mixers, and local oscillators. Consequently, FTMs require extensive hardware, including at least one oscillator and one mixer for each tuner, making the module costly and too large for some applications. Furthermore, as the channel capacity of a FTM grows, the module consumes more power due to the increase in analog components.
What is needed is a method or apparatus for implementing a scalable switch architecture for a FTM that minimizes circuit area and power consumption.